Tinners – Member
In the interests of balance, I'd like to share my experience. I love music. No, I really do. If it's live, then even better. I was brought up in a household where music of all sorts featured heavily and one of my close family was a top flight professional singer. In 1992, I started my first job after Uni but decided to live on a student income for many months to save up for a good HiFi. I knew nothing about electronics (and I'm just as ignorant now), just went around a number of retailers and HiFi shops to listen to their wares and make my decision based on what I heard. Then one day, I walked into a BADA dealer, spent an hour explaining the kind of music I liked and arranged a listening session with my own records and Cds. I heard my music played on a Linn system (turntable, amp, "directional cables" and speakers) with an arcam CD player. I was alarmed to see no graphic equaliser, no flashing lights and no separate Bass and Treble knob…..BUT…..it totally, totally blew me away. Still does. As does anyone who visits my home 18 years later. You'd swear that the artist was there, in front of you, playing live in your own home. Breathing, fingers sliding on guitar strings, the lot. I don't know how it works or what the spec sheet says and I don't buy the "science" behind directional cables, but my God it sounds good. Granted it cost a lot, but it was worth it to me.
Many years later I did the same with DVD players but this time the £80 Toshiba player seemed no different to much more expensive ones, so I opted for the "cheapie". If you've listened to British HiFi and think that it's a waste of money, then fair enough. Mine's black and unfashionable looking and it may be that things have changed over the years, but I defy anyone to listen to a record – yes, record – on my Linn system and not be impressed. Rule Brittania, I say.
Well said Tinners – there IS a difference between well made hi-fi equipment and the cheap shite you get in Comet and Currys, flashing lights, graphic equalizers and shiny bits have nothing to do with quality hi-fi .
Good gear will also last for ever – I'm running a pair of 70's Rogers speakers which are nearly as old as me and they still sound wicked.
The way I see it is this: there may not be much of a discernible difference in sound quality when you first compare say a Naim system to a Sony system but try and go back to the Sony system after 6 months of owning tha Naim gear and the difference in quality will become apparent.
Some of the stuff that you see for sale is right up it's own arse though i admit – Cable elevators anyone?
There was also a big hoo – haa a few years back when a tiny company by the name of Beresford decided to knock out DAC's that sound arguably equal if not better than models costing 10 times as much – lots of the hi-fi snobs at the time slagged them of without even hearing the thing so there is a element of "snake oil" around the expensive stuff. it MUST sound better. Not necessarily so
Loudness war is all about getting your "tune" to pop and stand out on the radio IMO – just sounds fookin horrible though on anything else
